Inspiration
by worldwithoutlogic
Summary: When it comes to dates, Hermione thinks that nothing could be safer than a visit to an art gallery. An innocent evening out to see an old friend's gallery exhibit, however, redefines Draco and Hermione's concept of 'art' and 'inspiration'.


**A/N: ** This fic is cross posted from DramioneLove's Love Fest 2014 on LJ. Thanks to kanames_harisen for being my beta and helping me look through the fic even with her own busy schedule!

* * *

**Prompt:** #91 - Hermione asks Draco out for Valentine's Day. They go to a b&amp;w photo art exhibit in Muggle London not knowing its got pictures of nudes in sensual and sexual poses. They both get horny as they look together and talk about the images.  
**Warnings (if any): **Sensual artwork, public display of affection, implied sex in the near future (off-screen), OOC, Post-Hogwarts EWE  
**Disclaimer:** "Harry Potter" is the property of J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. This work of fiction/art was created entirely for fun, not for profit, and no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

Hermione rushed out of her house, securing the plaid, red scarf tighter around her neck for fear that the chilling winds would blow it away. She checked her bag for the umpteenth time to make sure that the tickets were indeed in there before finally making for the Leaky Cauldron.

The reason for her hurried departure was that she had a date this Valentine's evening. More specifically, a date this Valentine's evening with Draco Malfoy.

It was her call this time. The many times previously that Draco had planned their outings—from riverside restaurants to expensive day-trips to France—he'd thought of it all. It was now her turn to repay the favour and bring him out somewhere refreshing and unusual – to do something vastly different from previous dates. And she knew the perfect place.

* * *

Just a week prior, a mutual friend of both Hermione and Draco, Theodore Nott, had given her some free passes to an art exhibition in Muggle London. After the War, he'd become a freelance photographer, travelling the world looking to frame the next best shot.

This time, however, his inspiration had been a little closer to home.

"My pieces will be displayed in Muggle London!" Theo had said, holding up a pair of tickets printed on grey paper. "I thought I'd let you know in case you might be in the area. Here, I'll give you two in case Malfoy actually decides to come, too. It'd be a rather unlikely scenario, I would think," he had added, looking to the side with a thoughtful expression.

"Sure, sure!" Hermione had excitedly agreed, taking the passes that were embossed with the words, _**"Primal Instincts: A Study in Black and White"**_.

"Oh, but are you sure you don't want to know what it's about first?" Theo asked, gesturing towards the tickets now in her hand.

At that exact moment she had received a call from one of her co-workers detailing an urgent situation at work, forcing her to cut short her conversation with Theo.

"It's alright. I'm sure that whatever it is, it'll be really good. Let the theme be a surprise then!"

She'd hastily thanked Theo for the tickets again and had gone on her way, promising to let him know once they visited the gallery.

* * *

Now they were here at the grand entrance of a Muggle art gallery, located a street away from the Leaky Cauldron.

Draco was trailing rather sullenly behind a smiling Hermione, surprised at himself for even agreeing to go on the museum trip. She must have slipped something into his food that bewitched him into going – either that, or he was too eager to accept the Valentine's date. Regardless, he hadn't realised exactly _where_ they were headed until it was too late to back out. "This had better be good," he sighed, raising an eyebrow as they took in the sight of the sprawling grounds around the art gallery.

Hermione gave him an arch look. "It's supporting your friend that is the most important thing here. Aren't you interested in knowing what Theo's been doing all this time?"

Draco sighed in resignation before accompanying her into the building. "What kind of exhibits are we seeing today anyway?" he sceptically asked, taking a look at the tickets Hermione had extracted from her bag. "'Primal Instincts' sounds animalistic to me."

Their conversation came to an abrupt halt as they entered the building and were overcome with awe. The first sight that greeted them was a spacious, high ceilinged foyer, flanked by Roman-style columns that added to the majestic, yet intimidating aura of the museum. Looking past the pillars, Hermione spotted the ticket counter.

She grabbed Draco by the hand and together, they walked to the gantries, where Hermione flashed the passes and they were immediately ushered in.

Draco nervously tugged on his long-sleeved shirt with his free hand. Coming into Muggle London still wasn't a typical thing for him to do, and the experience remained slightly daunting. He wouldn't outwardly show it, of course, but his only comfort lie in his trust that Hermione's knowledge of the area certainly wouldn't allow him to get lost.

He would not outwardly say _that_ either.

His brunette witch wandered off, murmuring something about looking for a gallery map, and Draco was left to admire the interior décor and the crowd. The ceiling was almost completely made of glass, save for where the Roman columns were, and people were walking in various other directions, presumably to attend other art exhibitions. There were too many doors for him to count and this reminded him of the current priority: not to get lost in this labyrinth of a Muggle museum.

Spotting a flash of bushy hair round the corner, he immediately chased after Hermione.

* * *

Hermione walked through a set of sliding doors and spotted a stack of brochures propped up on a table, bearing the name of the exhibition. Now having a definite direction, she headed for the pamphlets. Before reaching them, however, a huge marquee a little distance from the entrance caught her attention. _**Primal Instincts: A Study in Black and White**_, it read, the letters large and bold on top of the otherwise earthen-coloured wall.

Well, it looked like she hadn't needed a map after all!

Picking one up anyway, just in case, she walked into the gallery and caught a glimpse of the art piece just next to the door.

It wasn't anything like she been expecting – not at all.

Reversing immediately, she bumped into Draco. He turned towards her quizzically, not expecting the sudden movement. As casually as she could, Hermione attempted to steer him away from the gallery, but not before he, too, looked up and saw what was in their line of sight.

"Well." Draco cleared his throat and furrowed his eyebrows.

There were no words for the situation they suddenly found themselves in: in front of them was a black and white photograph of a couple completely in the nude, the man pressed up against the woman's back, and both of them showing expressions of unmistakeable pleasure.

It didn't ease the discomfort to see that the photo was blown-up to the size of the portrait of the Fat Lady from Gryffindor Tower.

As awkward and cringe-worthy as the situation was, Hermione was indeed thankful that the art exhibition was in Muggle London. Who knew how she would have reacted if the photograph was magicked much like the ones that were commonplace in the wizarding world.

"So this is what the exhibition is about," Hermione supplied, desperate to fill the stifling silence, a rather stricken expression plastered on her face. She took a few steps forward past the art display. "It can't all be like this, though–"

She stopped dead in her tracks.

The gallery was actually quite large, with aisle upon aisle of similar photos. Some of the photos deeper within the exhibition hall were even more graphic than the ones at the entrance.

"What do we do now?" Hermione seemed to be echoing Draco's sentiments as he was looking around the gallery with mild interest.

"Make the best of it, I suppose. I mean, Theo's work is in here somewhere, right? We're bound to be inspired by his piece, I'm sure." He glanced at her. "Wasn't that the point of coming here for our date?"

Draco was amused as he observed her reaction to his implication. The initial pink tinge staining her cheeks had travelled all the way down her neck, and she continually shifted and fidgeted, clearly wanting to be anywhere else.

"But– But– We didn't know it was something like _this_!" she exclaimed, turning around just to come face to face with another piece of artwork, this one a silhouette of a woman arching her back, the curve of her breasts clearly defined for all to see. She groaned and turned back towards Draco, visibly shaken.

"Oh, come on, don't be a prude," Draco teased, a wicked glint in his eye.

"Pervert," she accused.

"Excuse _you_. We're in an art gallery, and I would think you of all people would be able to appreciate creativity in its raw form," he drawled, clearly enjoying her reaction to being caught in such an unusual situation.

"Let's just look for Theo's submission," she murmured, averting her eyes from another art piece (this one consisted of a woman, half undressed, smiling seductively at the camera as she kneeled over a man who was writhing beneath her).

* * *

The atmosphere between them became increasingly awkward as they moved past portraits that became more and more explicit as they moved further into the exhibit.

Whatever cheekiness that had been present in Draco slowly ebbed away as they ventured through the aisles. Conversation became terse and they grew flustered as they quickly realised that there was nothing to comment about in regards to the photos. It wasn't as if they could casually review the strictly artistic value of the pieces when, in fact, what was going through both of their minds was something a little more... primal.

* * *

Thankfully, Theo's photography didn't take long to find. Hermione and Draco were able to finally assess his artwork, reading the little plaque placed next to the frame.

It simply read, _**"Shadows"**_, and was nothing like the rest of the artwork in the gallery. They could see why it had been chosen to be part of the collection though, as its subtlety, in juxtaposition with the other pieces, highlighted the mystique and beauty in humanity's carnal instincts. Unlike the other artworks, which centred around the portrayal of raw emotions involved in 'the act', Theo's was a more subdued version – a collage of shadows in various rooms. Some were taken in the heat of the moment, others during the warm afterglow of the couple's lovemaking. The photographer used the monochromatic theme to his advantage, with the strategic lighting framing each shot, and Draco and Hermione both couldn't help but feel a sense of serenity while looking at the photo.

It was evocative and... inspiring.

"He's got an eye for detail, that's for sure," Draco stated and shook his head in amusement.

Hermione could only nod in agreement. Wistfully, she tilted her head to the side and took a long, lingering look at Theo's masterpiece.

* * *

Now that their 'mission' to support Theo's endeavours was over, and closing time was quickly approaching, Draco and Hermione had little left to do but continue their walk through the increasingly emptying gallery. Thankfully, after their discussion of their friend's photo, the awkwardness between them had started to wear off in favour of a tension of another kind.

"I never knew you could do _that_," Hermione remarked, gesturing to one of the pictures. She wasn't sure if she was just trying to break the silence or if she was truly amazed at how flexible a person could be (she suspected it was a mixture of both, honestly).

"According to the visual evidence in front of us, you can. Perhaps we could try it sometime," Draco suggested.

Astonished, Hermione glanced over at him... only to find his devilish grin back in place.

She would have been lying if she'd later said she _hadn't _been turned on by his forwardness.

Although they'd been going out for quite a while, she was surprised that Draco had brought up the topic of a "sometime", alluding to a future sexual encounter between them. Even more amazing, it was an offer she didn't want to refuse.

"Fine by me," she casually replied, pretending to be unaffected by his teasing.

Draco lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the contact, rather sensitive after examining saucy pictures all night long. Her date's touch did nothing to quell the fire that was steadily burning in her lower abdomen; quite the opposite in fact.

He tossed her a smirk as his hand lightly squeezed her shoulder. "I'm actually not that afraid of commitment, you know, contrary to popular belief."

At his words, Hermione let out a breath she was unconsciously holding back.

"And I've enjoyed tonight, despite the fact you have the most baffling date ideas ever known to mankind," he teased, glancing around.

Hermione sputtered, "Honestly, I didn't have a clue it was going to be like this. I swear!"

Draco chuckled with amusement.

She huffed and turned to the next exhibit to ignore his ribbing, but Draco wouldn't let it rest. His hand encircled her wrist and pulled her towards him, and she stumbled back, bringing them chest-to-chest.

They could both feel their bodies tense with the sudden heated possibilities their direct contact brought.

Ignoring the photographs for the moment, Draco slid his hands down and around, linking them at the small of Hermione's back.

She took her cue from him and circled her arms around his waist, rising up on tiptoe so that her mouth could reach his ear. "We're in a public place," she reminded him.

"So? These photos are in a public place too, and no one's complaining," he countered, before turning his head and capturing her lips with his own.

Passionately responding to his hot, open-mouthed kiss, Hermione gently bit down on his lower lip, earning an animalistic growl from him and spurring him to attack her mouth even more ferociously.

Revelling in the scent of Hermione's strawberry perfume, Draco tore his lips away from hers for a moment to nip a trail down her throat to her pulse. She gasped at the unexpected wet warmth of his mouth on her sensitive flesh, and slid a hand between their bodies, grabbing at his clothing for leverage, pulling them even closer together.

His hands trailed lower, slipping under her skirt, and Hermione began squirming under Draco's expert touch. Slowly, but surely, he broke down her resistance, until at last she was so close, so close to–

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but are you interested in buying any of the exhibited pieces you see here tonight? We're about to close the gallery, so we were just… uh, wondering," a man, presumably the curator, asked them. He'd discreetly situated himself at the end of their aisle, and Hermione guessed it was because he probably didn't want to approach during such an intimate moment.

She and Draco broke apart immediately, panting and a bit... sweaty from their efforts.

Draco gave a loud groan of frustration at the interruption. "Bad timing, mate," he snarled under his breath, glaring at the interloper. He answered the man's question in a shout, though: "No, we're not interested, thanks."

Hermione, although equally frustrated as her date, was more embarrassed at having been caught snogging like some over-eager teenager. God, she'd almost... right in the open!

"I see. Well, sorry for bothering you," the curator called back. "Have a good, uh, night! And Happy Valentine's to you both!" He hastily took off.

Hermione and Draco simultaneously turned back to each other.

"He wasn't entirely at fault," she said, eyes desperately looking everywhere except at her date. She mentally cursed for getting caught in such an awkward situation.

"Mmm," Draco replied and gave an enigmatic shrug.

She could feel his gaze fixated on her in the most unsettling, beguiling way as they stood in conversational silence. The slow closing of the gallery's shutter doors at the far end was the only sound.

"W-we'd best be going," she finally conceded.

Draco gave her a small smile. "I agree."

They walked together towards the exit in silence for a bit before he suddenly turned to her, flashing a sly grin. "We've still got some things to settle afterwards, though. Regarding the _interpretation_ of this art."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at his double entendre. She shook her head, astounded by his blatant flirtation, and took his hand in hers.

This had been hands-down one of the strangest dates they had ever been on. They'd laugh over it later, for sure, but for now, there was a more pressing matter to attend to once they reached her flat...

...one that involved a man, a woman, and some _timely_ inspiration.


End file.
